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Definition of reef : 1. A chain or range of rocks lying at or near the surface of the water. See Coral reefs, under Coral.
2. A large vein of auriferous quartz; - so called in Australia. Hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.
3. That part of a sail which is taken in or let out by means of the reef points, in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.
4. To reduce the extent of ( as a sail) by roiling or folding a certain portion of it and making it fast to the yard or spar.

Synonyms:

bar, Witwatersrand, shoal, coral reef, sand bar, ledge, bank, rock barrier, beach, Rand, study at shoalshoal

isle, holm, islet, key, cay, island, atoll, archipelago

crag, precipice, bluff, wall, palisade, cliff, boulder, stone, escarpment, rock

Usage examples:

• For, suppose the relative level of the sea to remain stationary, after a fringing reef has reached that distance from the land at which the depth of water amounts to one hundred and fifty feet. - "Autobiography and Selected Essays", Thomas Henry Huxley.
• As the day advanced, the gale increased, attended with thick hazy weather, sleet, and snow, and at last obliged us to close- reef our top- sails, and strike top- gallant- yards. - "A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World, Volume 1", James Cook.
• We're getting out to the open sea now, past the reef. - "The Players", Everett B. Cole.